Government’s voter suppression powers challenged at select committee

Electoral Amendment Bill: Submitters want fewer restrictions, more sausages

The government’s Electoral Amendment Bill has faced a deluge of criticism as the Justice Committee heard submissions at Parliament on Thursday.

Submitters have said it would breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, disenfranchise communities, create a restrictive enrolment environment, and that prisoner representation through the ballot box should be “welcomed, not denied” and voters should be allowed to have a “democracy sausage”.

Many submissions have also referenced comments by the deputy prime minister calling voters who enrol late “dropkicks”, saying it is insulting and inaccurate.

The bill makes a suite of changes, including ending same-day voter enrolment, banning prisoner voting, changes to treating on Election Day and expanding anonymous political donation limits.

In announcing the bill, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government was “overhauling outdated and unsustainable electoral laws”.

Goldsmith also said in the past, a “total prison voting ban for all sentenced prisoners underlines the importance that New Zealanders afford to the rule of law, and the civic responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with the right to participate in our democracy through voting”.

In a regulatory impact statement prepared earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice did not support closing enrolment earlier.

“Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant,” officials said.

And Attorney-General Judith Collins has also said the legislation could breach the Bill of Rights.

In a report, Collins concluded that the bill appeared inconsistent with the right to vote, to freedom of expression and the rights of prisoners in certain circumstances regarding changing penalties.

Last election we had roughly 454,000 people who enrolled during the voting period that National now wants to ban.

75% of those votes cast went to the Left.

What this hard right Government are actively attempting here is a voter suppression agenda that actively attempts to fuck over the Left and gerrymander the results.

It is one of the reasons I’m screaming at the Left to use MMP strategically so as to ensure we can actually beat this hard right Government when they are actively attempting to screw the electoral scrum and rig the process.

The Right don’t give a shit about participation because rich fucks and culture war boomers always vote, the lower the voting turn out the more likely the rich and culture war boomers win.

This Government are anti-democratic and they are trying to rob the next election.

If you aren’t angry, you aren’t paying attention.

 

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